Shower-bath fixtures are previously known in many different designs, for instance comprising a connection unit, which is vertically displaceable on a post or the like and which supports a curved perforated pipe or the grip of a hand shower. There are other known shower-bath arrangements of stationary type, where shower nozzles are fixed at different heights with a certain interspace therebetween. Such prior art devices are disclosed for instance in U.S. Pat. Nos. 1,148,968 and 833,527, French patent specification No. 1,112,245 and Swiss patent specification No. 390,813.
Lately so called shower cabins have been designed, comprising a shower-bath arrangement in which the shower nozzles are positioned in each corner of the cabin and have the form of vertical pipes with perforations, which are directed to the centre of the cabin so that a person standing in the cabin will be showered from four directions simultaneously. Beyond the high procuring costs, this type of shower has several disadvantages due to the fact that the nozzles are not individually adjustable and cannot be adapted to specific demands or to different body lengths. Moreover, this kind of shower-bath arrangement is extremely space consuming and in bathrooms in usual apartments there is usually no possibility of installating separate shower-bath arrangements of this kind. This is a severe draw-back since a shower-bath has many advantages compared to a bath in a bathtub as well from a hygienical as from an energy saving point of view. In conventional bathrooms the shower bath fixtures are usually restricted to a handshower with specific holders for the shower grip to make it possible to take a shower bath standing in the bathtub. This kind of shower has, however, several disadvantages, due to the fact that the holder has to withstand considerable torques resulting from the reaction forces from the water jet. This has presented several problems to the designers. Moreover the shower nozzle of the hand shower is specifically designed for a close shower, which means that the water spray will be considerably scattered immediately after it has been discharged from the nozzle. Thus a hand shower held in position on the wall will cause considerable splash in a wide area around the bathtub. Thus, it will always be necessary to install shower curtains to prevent splashing over the entire bathroom floor when taking a shower-bath.
Beyond the above mentioned drawbacks previously known shower-bath fixtures are extremely uncomfortable for a physically disabled person, who perhaps by himself can neither hold the shower grip nor place it in the holder. In previously known stationary shower arrangements, with the exception of the above mentioned shower cabin, the bather must either turn around in the shower jet or turn the spray element from one side to the other to wet the whole body. This turning movement is extremely difficult to perform for a physically disabled and perhaps wheel-chair carried person. Neither is the above mentioned shower cabin specifically suitable for physically disabled persons since the nozzles are not adjustable in height and the cabin is not sufficiently wide to provide room for a wheel-chair. The most safe and convenient space for personal hygiene for a physically disabled person is undoubtedly in the bathtub sitting on a bench or the like specifically designed for this purpose. However, so far no fixtures have been designed which meet these specific requirements.